Tandem disk harrow



Dec. 28,1926. 1,612,165

- C, H. WHITE f TANDEM Dsx HARROW f Filed July 5, 1924 Dec. z8 1926.1,612,165

` C. H. WHlTE TANDEM DISK HARROW Filed July 5 1924 3 Sheets- Sheet l l10 'TI l 1 f D Eff/:11121;:

Dec. 28 1926.

C. H. WHITE TANDEM DISK HARROW Filed July 1924 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented28, i926.

CHARLES I-I. WHITE, OF MOLINE, ILLINOIS, ASSIGIEGR TO DEERE 5 COMPANY,0F IVIOLIIIE, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION F ILLINOIS.

TANDEI/I DISK HARROW'.

Application led .Tuly 5,

My invention relates to disk harrows ot the tandem type in which frontand rear har-row units or sections, each comprising a pair oi? the usualdisk gangs, are pivotally or otherwise flexibly connected together sothat the units may be angled relatively to each other. In harrows ofthis type corresponding liront and rear disk gangs are usually arrangedso that the disks ot the rear gang out the soil left between the disksof the front gang, and it is important that this relation of the disksof the front and rear gangs be maintained not only when the harrow isproceeding straight ahead, but also when it is rounding curves or beingturned to avoid obstacles. rIlhis relation oi' the disks of the irontand rear gangs is herein ret-erred to as registration. It is alsoimportant that the draft connections by which the rear unit is drawnthrough the iront unit be such as to hold the rear unit steady andprevent it from oscillating too freely, and also that means be providedby which the normal or straight-away relation of the units to each otherwill be restored quickly when a straight-away course is resumed after aturning` movement. The tendency of the rear unit to oscillate easily,because of unequal resistance encountered by the disks of the oppositerear gangs, is herein termed nervousness. To provide an improved diskharrow in which registration will always be maintained and nervcusnesswill be avoid ed, so that the disks of the rear gangs will alwaysmaintain their proper relation to the disks oi the corresponding 'frontgangs and the tendency ot nervous harrows to side slip er dritt on sidehill work will be avoided, is the object of my present invention. Thisobject I accomplish as illustrated in the y'ings and as hereinafterdescribed. si/'hat I regard as new is set 'torth in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, in which have illustrated my improvementsas apglied to a tandem disk harrow of a commercially well-knowndesign,--

l is a plan view showing the parts of the harrow in their normalposition, or the pcsiticn assumed by the front and rear units 'for.straight-away work;

Fig. 2 is also a plan View showing the dra 1924. .Serial No. 724,532.

parts in the position they assume when a turn to the let't is beingmade;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation showing the disk gangs in transport position,at which time the gangs of each unit are alined;

Fig. t is an enlarged detail, being a plan view of parts ot the draftconnections in which my improvements are more particularly included;

Fig. 5 is a vertical section on line 5--5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a detail, being a. cross-section on line-G oi' Fig. 1i; and

Fig. 7 is also a detail, being a partial vertical cross-section on line7-7' of Tlig. li.

'Ihe harrow to which in the alurfa'ed construction I have applied myimprovements is composed of the usual front and rear units or sectionsflexibly coupled together so that they may be angled relatively to eachother, and the harrow as a whole is designed to be drawn either by atractor or by a team, as may be preferred. The disk gangs oi each unitmay be angled relatively to each other and secured in fixed relation toeach other. In the drawings I have shown means for conveniently makingthese adjustments, and although many ot the details of the constructionshown have nothing to do with my present invention, they will bedescribed briefly.

As shown in Fig. l, the front unit comprises a front frame, designatedas a whole by the reference numeral 8, said 'frame being made up in partof a transverse bar or beam 9, the end portions ot which are bentbackward and downward and are pivotally and adjustably connectedbypivots 10, l1 with brackets 12, 13 carried respectively by disk gangslll, 15. rIhe end portions of the beam 9 are connected to 'forwardlyconverging side bars 16, 17, which are in turn connected to draft bars18, 19 provided at their :torward ends with a clevis 2O for attachmentthereto of the source ot draft power. rlhe bars I8, 19 are suitablyconnected together to form a trame, and rising from them are standards2l braced by braces 22, as shown in Fig. 3. Between the upper ends otthe standards 21 is pivotally mounted an internally threaded collar 23in which works a tubular externally screw-threaded shaft 2a adapted tobe rotated to move it longitudi nally of the barrow. A crank 25 on thetorward end ot the shaft 2e provides means :tor rotating,` it. Carriedby the shaiit 2stis a collar 2G pivotally connected with the 'forwardends oi links 2T, the rear ends o which are connected to rockingl levers28 itulcruined at 29 on the braces 22, and connected at their lower endsby links 30, 8l with the inner ends ot the disk gangs la, 15,respectively. The arrangement is such that by rotating,` the shat't ilthe links 30, 3l may be moved tor- Ward or backw rd, thereby angularlyadjustinfcT the gangs la, 'l5 relatively to each other. lWhen adjustedthe gangs are held in iixed relation to each other by the threaded shaftas shown in Fig. l. The inner ends et said gangs are provided withconvex bearingY plates 33 which abut against each other and serve asthrust bearings between said gangs,

The rear unit comprises a trame, designated as a. whole by the referencenumeral 3e, said trame beingT composed in part of a transverse beam 85.similar to the beam 9, and similarly connected to rear disk gangs 36,37 by pivots 38, 39, respectively. The end portions or the beam 35 areconnected to forwardly converging3` side bars 40, eil, Which areLreterably intf` uected together at their forward en as best shoivn inFig. l. For angularly adjustii'ig the rear gangs relatively to eachother provide a rod or shalt 2 which extends through the tubular sli-att2l, in which it is movable longitudinally, and is provided at its'liront end with a crank --S, as shown in Fig. At its rear end the rodis connected by a universal coupling; lli r-.vith the forward end ot ascrewtlireadod shaft l5 mounted in a bracket d6, through a hole in which.it extends. rihe sha't l5 is held against longitudinal movement by thecoupling is and a collar el? secured to said shatt at the opposite sideot the bracket to :trom the coupling stili, best shown in Fig'. Theshalt Works through a screw-threaded collar t8 iL ".f'otally mounted atthe upper end o1 a siriir ing' lever it!) tulcrumed at 50 on asupplemental trame 5l which is connected between the members B5, il()and el, as best shown in l. It will be note-d that the lever +0 isbiturcated, its lower ends extending down at opposite sides ot' theframe 5l and being connected by links 52, 58 With the inner enc portionsof the gangs 36, 37, respect' 'ely'. Obviously, by

rocking the lever 49 the in-r ends ot srd ganas may be moved back andiiorth, thereby changing their angular relation to each other, and thevare held in fixed relation to each other, vfnen adjusted, by the screwshaft Coming now to the draft connections bef tween the front and rearunits, 54,55 incicate the side members ot a vdraft iframe, the frontends ot which are pivotally connected with the beam 9 by horizontaltransversely disposed pivots 56, 57 mounted in yokes 5t?, 59 that arepivotally connected by :tore and a'tt bolts 6G, 6l with the beam 9, asshown in Fig. l. These connections are loose enough so that the drafttrame is notl only capable ot swinging vertically, but also may rock tosome extent about a longitudinal an s to permit 'the disk gangs toaccommodate themselves to inequalities in the ground. The yokes 58, 59are at opposite sides ot the media` line ot the harroW and equi-distanttherefrom, and, as shown in Figs. l and the side members 5st-, 55converge rearwardly. lear their forward ends they are connect ,l by across-bar 62, best shown in l, and at their rear ends they are lixeuiycnnected to a draft iiiember in the "form olf' a circular plate or disk63, preferably by means olf brackets 64,165 secured thereto bolts (Sti,(57. These brackets are preferably cast integral with the disk 63 andrise from the upper surface thereotl at opposite sides of the medianline thereof. At its under side the disks-d3 is provided with an annulargroove near its periphery, said groove in the con truction illustratedbeingl approximately semi-cylindrical in term, and at the rear it isdivi@ ed by a downwardly projectinc luf o abutment which lies in themedian lne.. o he Yiront harroW section, as shown i Figs. #l and As bestshown in Fig. 5, said disk is provided with a concentric flange 7()surroundinga central opening, which flange is adapted to tit over andbear upon the hub 7l, ot an underlying disk 72 Which is lixeoly securedto the rear harrow section, preferably by means of depending flanges 73,7st that lit against and are secured to the beam 35 and side bars 40, 41by bolts 75, 76. The two disks 63 and 72 are pivotally secured togetherby means ot a pivot bolt 77 and the lower ,4. P portion oi the bracket46 which, as shoivn ai 78 in Figs. l and 5, is lent So that it extendshorizontally over the hub 7l and, as shown in 4s, overlaps. the flange'70. rihus the two disks (33, 72 form a sort ot turntable ly which the'front and rear units are pivotally connected together so that they mayswing' laterally relatively to each other. The lower disk, 72, isprovided in its upper surface near its margin with an annular groove 79which registers with the groove 68, so that the two grooves togetherterm a cylindrical pocket between said disks. ritt a point in the median'der line ot the rear unit the groove-79 is d' .fr or ab1 by an upwardlyextending` 8() which, when the harroiv umts are in their normalposition, with the abutment 69, as shown in Fig. 7. Thus the is dividedatthe rear into two pockets, and in these pockets are placed springs Si,82, the rear ends ot which bear against opposite surfaces of theabutments 69, 80, as shown bis nie

in said figure. The forward ends of said springs bear against bearingplates 83, 84, respectively, which lie in the groove 79 adjacent toabutments 85, 86 carried by the disk 72, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. Ll and in full lines in Fig. 5. Adjusting screws 87, SS are Anttedin threaded bearings inthe abutments 85, 86, their rear ends extendingtherethrough into engagement with the plates S3, 84e. By thisarrangement by adi justing the screws 87, 88 the normal tension of thesprings 81, 82 may be adjusted by lengthening or shortening the distancebetween the bearing plates 83, 84, respectively, and the abutments G9,80.

then the harrow units are in their normal position sho-wn in F l, atwhich time, as has been explained, the abutments 69, 8O are inregistering position and lie in the median line of the harrow, thetension of the springs 8l, 82 is the same, and they neutralize eachother. lf, however, the rear unit should swing laterally, or the frontunit should be turned laterally in steering the harrow, one or the otherof said springs will be put under greater tension, since then t-he disks63, .72 are rotated relatively to each other, thereby moving theabutments 69, 8O out of alinement, and consequently compressing one orthe other of said springs. For example, if the front unitbe turned tothe left, as illustrated in Fig. 2, the upper disk, 63, will be turnedcounter-clockwise relatively to the lower disk, T2, thereby moving theabutment 69 to the left as viewed in Fig. 7 and coinpressing the spring81 between itand the bearing plate 83. lt will be apparent, thereL fore,that the spring 8l tends to resist this turning movement, and that theincreased tension caused by the turning movement tends to restore theharrow units to their normal position. A similar operation takes placeif the rear unit swings laterally in the direction illustrated in Fig.2, as then the low-er disk Z2 swings clockwise as viewed in Y Fig. 2,moving the bearing plat-e S8 in the same direction and compressing thespring 8l between it and the abutment 69. lf the deflection is in theopposite direction, the spring 82 is compressed and operates in the samemanner as that described for the spring 8l. lt will be seen, therefore,that the two springs cooperate to resist movement of the rear unitindependently of the front unit in either direction away from its normalposition, and consequently the barrow is stable, or not nervous, and thetendency of the rear gangs to side slip or drift on side hill work ismaterially reduced, .if not entirely oven come.

lhe draft connections are so designed that the pivot 7 7 issubstantially midway between the transverse axes of the front and rearunits, and lies in the median line of the harrow when the units are intheir normal po sition, or atthe point of intersection of the medianlines of the units when they are angled. The disks of the front and reargangs therefore follow concentric arcs dm'- ing turning movements, andas the springs tend to restore the units to and hold them in theirnormal position registration is well maintained.

So far as I am aware, I am the first in the art to provide a tandem diskbarrow with oppositely acting spring-actuated devices which tend to holdtheharrow units in normal relation to each other, and l wish it to beunderstood that my invention is not restricted to the constructionillustrated and de- "ai scribed, but includes such modifications thereofembodying the generic feature of utilizing oppositely actingspring-actuated stabilizing devices as would occur to those skilled inthe art.

lhat l claim as my invention and desire to secure by Let-ters Patent,is-

l. ln a tandem disk barrow, the combination of front and rear units, anddraft connections between said units arranged to permit angling thereoflaterally relatively tceach other about an axis lying substantiallymidway between the transverse axes of said units, comprisingspring-actuated devices tending to hold said units in normal rela.-t'ion to each other.

2. In a tandem disk harrow, the combination of front and rear units,draft connections between said units arranged to permit angling thereoflaterally relatively to each other about an axis lying substantiallymidway between the transverse axes of said units, comprisingspring-actuated devices tending to hold said units in norma-l relationto each other, and means controlled by the turning of one of said unitslaterally for increasing the spring power applied to said devicesefective to restore said units to their normal relation to each other.

3. ln a tandem disk harrow, the combination of front and rear units,draft connections between said units arranged to permit angling thereofrelatively to each other, and oppositely acting springs tending to holdsaid units in normal relation to each other.

1l. ln a tandem disk harrow, the combination of front and rear units,draft connections between said units arranged to permit angling` thereofrelatively to each other, springs associated with said draftconnections,and means actuated by angling of said units in one direction to increasethe tension of one of said springs, and actuated by angling of saidunits in the opposite di.- rection to increase the tension of the otherspring.

5. In a tandem disk barrow, the combination of front and rear units,mea-ns pivotally connecting said units together to swing angnlarlyrelatively to each. other, and op t? iii lllll positely acting springs'tending to hold said units in normal relation to each other.

6. ln a tandem disk barrow, the combination of front and rear units,means pivotally connecting said units together' to swing angularlyrelatively to each other, oppositely acting springs tending to hold saidunits in normal relation to each other, and means actuated by angling ofsaid units in one direction to increase the tension of one of saidsprings, and actnated by angling of said units in the opposite directionto increase the tension of the other spring.

7. ln a tandem disk harrow, the combina tion of front and rear unitspivotally connected together to swing laterally draft members connectedwith saidnnits respectively and rotatable relatively to each other bythe angling of said units, and oppositely acting springs associated withand tending to hold said draft members against relative rotation. l

8. ln a tandem diskharrow, the combination of front and rear units,draft members connected with said units respectively and rotatablerelatively to each other by the angling of said units, means pivotallyconnecting said draft members together', and oppositely actingcircnmferentially disposed springs associated with and tending to holdsaid draft members against relative rotation.

9. ln a tandem disk barrow, the combination of front and rear units,draft members connected with said units respectively and rotatablerelatively to each other by the angling of said units, means pivotallyconnecting said draft members together, oppositely actingcircnmferentially disposed springs associated with and tending to holdsaid draft members against relative rotation, and means for adjustingthe tension of said springs.

10. In a tandem disk barrow, the combination of front and rear units,draft members connected with said units respectively and rotatablerelatively to each other by the angling of said units, means pivotallycon- Y necting said draft members together', registering abntmentscarried by said draft members Vpositioned in the median line of theharrow when the units are in normal posi.- tion, plates carried by oneof said draft members at opposite sides thereof, and springs interposedbetween said plates and said abntments whereby angling of said units ineither direction will increase the tension of one or the other of saidsprings.

ll. ln a tandem dislrharrow, the combina tion of front and rear units,draft members connected with said units respectively and rotatablerelatively to each other by the a "1' j of said units, means pivotallyconh .said draft members together, registering abut-ments carried bysaid draft members positioned mythe median line ofthe harrow when theunits are in normal position, plates carried by one of said draftmembers at opposite sides thereof, spring interposed between `saidplates and said abntments whereby angling of said units in eitherdirection will increase the tension of one or the other of said springs,and means for adjnsting the position of said plates.

l2. ln a tandem disk barrow, the combination of front and rear units, aframe estending rearwardly from the front unit and pivoted to swingvertically, a draft member rigidly connected with said frame, a frameconnected with the rear nnit and extending forward therefrom, a draftmember rigidly connected with the latter frame, means pivotallyconnecting said draft members together so that they may rotaterelatively to each other when saitL units are angled, and oppositelyacting springs associated with and tending,` to hold said draft membersagainst relative rotation.

13. ln a tandem disk harrow, the combination of front and rear nnits` aframe eX- tending rearwardly from the front unit and pivoted to swingvertically, a. draft member rigidly connected with said frame, a frameconnected with the rear unit and entend* ing forward therefrom, a draftmember rigidly connected with the latter frame, means pivotallyconnecting said draft members together so that they may rotaterelatively to each other when said units are angled, springs interposed'between said draft members lat opposite sides of the median line of thebarrow, and devices carried by said draft members for increasing thetension of one or the other of said springs when said units are angledin one direction or the other.

lll. In a tandem dish harrow, the combination of front and rear Units, aframe el:n tending rearwardly from the front nnit and pivoted to swingvertical y, a draft member rigidly connected with said frame, a frameconnected with the rear unit and extending forward therefrom, a draftmember rigidly connected with the latter frame, means pivotallyconnecting said draft members together so that they may rotaterelatively to each other when said units are angl-ed, springs interposedbetween and enclosed by said draft members at opposite sides of themedian line of the harrow, and devices carried by said draft members forincreasing the tension of one lor the other of said springs when saidnnits are angled in one direction orxthe other. l

l5. ln a tandem dish barrow, the combination of front and rear units, aframe entending rearwardly from the front unit and pivloted to swingvertically, a draft member rigidly connected with said frame, a frameconnected with the rear unit and ext-ending forward therefrom, Aa draftmember rigidly connected with the latter frame, means pvotallyconnecting said draft membefs together so that they may rotaterelatively to each other when said units are angled, springs interposedbetween and enclosed by said draft members at opposite sides of themedian line of the narrow, devices carried by said draftmelnbers fornefeasng the tension of one or the other et said sp'ngs When said unitsae angled in one direction or the other, and means for adjusting theno11- mal tension of said springs.

CHARLES H. WHITE.

